Review PHANTOM CORPORATION ‘Fallout’

Death Crust powerhouse Phantom Corporation started in 2015. Former Dew-Scented, former Eroded, ex-Weak Aside and former Pain Of Pleasure members started the band, and it was an EP called ‘First Commandment’ that hit the metal underground a year later. And a look at the artwork shows that the band had already some prominent supports since it was Voivod’s Away who contributed with the cover artwork.

A second EP followed and two split releases hit the shelves too. What was missing was a full-length debut and the gap is now closed.

Phantom Corporation recently launched with ‘Fallout’ a debut album, featuring eleven smashing metal song. ‘Fallout’ is a brutal album fueled by music that blends hardcore, thrash metal and death metal to a morbid cocktail of riffpower.

‘Dead Inside’ is the brute start of an album that can be seen as a musical blast. Racing speed and a merciless power, that is how the band approached these eleven songs. ‘Fallout’ has no moment to take a deeper breath. One song follows the other with uncompromising grin and tracks like ‘Gridlock’ fascinate with its anarchic vibe and a murderous riffing.

Phantom Corporation don’t even consider putting a foot on the brake. However, there is with ‘Vortex of Torment’ a song that comes with a moderate pace, compared to some of the other furious tracks on the album. Equipped with a great groove and the snotty screams of frontman Leif Jensen, the song belongs to the highlights on an album, that isn’t shy of raging metal anthems.

Well placed is ‘Terminal Darkness’. The acoustic interlude acts like a peaceful moment of rest before the inferno breaks loose again with the massively pounding ‘Spiritual Arsonists’. The foundation of each of the songs on ‘Fallout’ is metal, but there is always a pinch of punk embedded too, like in the mentioned ‘Spiritual Arsonists’.

Meat cleaver riffs is what ‘The Echoes of Doom’ provide before the album comes to an end with ‘Excessive Force’ and ‘Fire and Fury’. The latter sums up, what this longplayer offers. Brutal extreme metal blasts out of the speakers, challenging neck muscles of fans. Phantom Corporation loves what they are doing, and this can be heard back on their debut album. This savage release is built on passion and dedication for music, that is authentic, real and to the point. No frills, no make-up. On ‘Fallout’ listeners get the boiled-down blast of metal, a storm that leaves a trail of chaos in the home.